Unbelievable
by tanjiamin
Summary: Believing that Korra had died from suicide, her friends from Republic City were soon in the Earth Kingdom searching for the next Avatar. Though, unknown to everyone, she was still alive, living as an entirely different person after losing her memory. Living as an ordinary citizen in a small village of the Earth Kingdom, would Team Avatar ever find her again?
1. Chapter 1

She looked down the edge of the cliff, almost a full 200 feet above the icy cold southern waters.

_Perfect_, she thought, a sad smile appears on her chapped lips, a lone tear racing down her cheek.

An avatar without the four elements to bend is an avatar without meaning. At least, that's what she's convinced herself.

Taking a final look at Naga, her heart breaks into bits as she remembers all those that she cares about. Mom. Dad. Tenzin. Bolin. Asami. Mako...

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've be__en avatar, and I'm sorry I've been a terrible friend._

Unable to help herself, she breaks down in tears, blurring her vision. But nothing is stopping her from inching closer to the edge.

She squats down to calm herself while staring at the roaring water below.

_At least I'll be in the water_, She tries to reason. Her birth element. The one she has lost all connection to.

Her finger runs across the snow, forming characters on the ground before she gets up from her position.

Finally, she takes a huge breath, clearing her eyes of tears. Bravely looking into the darkened horizon, her right foot moves another step forward.

The world needed a new avatar. One that could stop crimes, save people. One that could bend all four elements.

Goodbye.

She takes another step forward and it is all that it takes. Korra is sent plummeting in the ocean, waves covering all signs of her suicide.

Korra had killed herself.

And no one had been there to stop her.

* * *

"Send out a search party! We have to find Korra!" Tonraq orders with a strict voice.

It has been two days since the disappearance of the 17 year old avatar, everyone was very concerned.

Perhaps she had run away, like Aang had as a kid? Was she trying to hide from them, ashamed of losing her bending? Maybe she just needed to get away from all of the things that have happened.

But what she had done was nothing close to what they had imagined.

The search took days. Not that they were to blame. They were searching for the wrong person. It would be impossible to find the Korra that they all cared for and loved deeply. She was already gone. All that was left was a cold shell of herself, probably at the bottom of the unforgiving ocean.

They didn't know that of course, that is, until they arrived at a cliff.

The White Lotus had found her pet polar bear dog that day, chasing it as started to run away. And Naga has led them to that very spot.

Footprints were spotted, even though faint after being covered up by days of snow, leading towards the very edge.

All guards immediately raced back to the compound to report of their discovery, hearts pounding, out of breath and extremely worried.

* * *

Katara, Pema and Lin were the only ones who remained back at the healing hut, while the others went in separate groups to search the frozen sites of the South Pole.

Seeing panting White Lotus members burst through the doors was both worrying and relieving at the same time. Finally after almost a week they had found something.

"What did you find?" Lin cuts straight to point, voice strict, as usual.

"We...we..." One of them started, words between pants, "there were footprints...leading toward the edge of a cliff. They looked days old, and were definitely... female. We think... they might be Korra's."

The three women were nothing less than shocked.

"Gather the rest and show us the cliff. We need to know what has happened to Korra." After days of absolutely no news, this was definitely what the chief of police was hoping to find out.

* * *

Everyone was gathered around the site, devastated. Although all of them were praying to Yue that no, these were not her footprints, and yes, she was okay.

But deep inside, they knew the sad truth. The South Pole was pretty isolated. It couldn't have been a coincidence.

While some of them investigated the marks in the snow, the rest stood at a side, trying their best to accept the reality. Korra was dead.

Mako was looking at the snowy ground, fingers brushing its surface.

He had confessed his feelings to Korra and even though he knew she was having it hard, he had no idea she would do anything as stupid as to attempt suicide.

The fire bender let a tear escape his eye. He had lost her.

That was when he spotted something, right before the cliff ended.

Words. Words, though utterly difficult to read or spot, for that matter, were words nonetheless. And also undeniably in the Avatar's handwriting.

_Oh no_.

All colour was suddenly drained from Mako's face.

_No. No. No. No. No!_

Asami had noticed how he was staying so unnaturally still, staring at the same spot of snow. She rushed by his side.

"Mako, what's wrong-" She immediately stops at what she sees. "No." It comes out barely a whisper as her voice softens.

Everyone else is soon muttering the same word again and again at what Korra had written in the snow.

'Find the next avatar for me.'

* * *

She was found unconscious, lying on the shores of the Earth Kingdom by a poor elderly couple.

How she avoided immediate death from the impact of falling right into the thunderous waves or drowning into the depths of the water or even escaping death by extreme hypothermia was a complete utter mystery. Not to forget the fact that she had went without food or clean water to drink for almost 10 days, as well as how she managed to appear half way across the world.

At seventeen years of age, maybe the spirits forbade her from dying as youngest avatar in history. Or maybe her "Avatar powers" gave her the ability to survive the entire way. No one really knows. After all it _was_ 'impossible'.

Though barely breathing, she was alive nonetheless.

Of course, you couldn't possibly expect for her to have gone through what she did and come out completely fine and unharmed.

No, she was far from being herself. From being Korra.

She looked like a skeleton, skinny to the bone. There was almost no inch of her skin that was free of cuts, bruises or any other form of injury. She was very pale, her clothing torn and tattered, hair all over the place.

And the worst of all was something entirely different.

She had lost all her memory.

With absolutely no recollection of being the avatar, of her life in the South Pole or Republic City, or even knowledge of her own name, she wasn't Korra anymore.

The old couple who found her took her in. They mentioned something about how the old man, Shen,was also adopted as a child.

Neither of them had recognized her as the avatar.

So from then on, Korra lived as an ordinary earth kingdom citizen, under the name Xuan, known as a non-bender (after all, she had not discovered her ability to air bend). Shen and Yan-Li had provided her with decent food and clothing, despite their financial difficulties, and Korra was eternally grateful.

She had also found out that Shen and Yan-Li's only son had died months ago, followed by his wife during childbirth just days before. So she, in return for their kindness, treated their newborn grandson, Hui, as her own baby brother.

They lived together in a small hut in the village, Korra helping her elderly guardians to work in the farm, earning a huge portion of the family income.

Life was peaceful and happy, though simple and slightly exhausting.

Too bad it wasn't_ hers._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra.

Author's Note: I thought I should let you guys know a few things.1) I update from my mobile and it is harder to edit and get the formatting right since my screen is so small, so I apologise if the previous chapter was very messy or something. 2) I realised that when viewed in the computer, each paragraph takes up less than a line. I'll **try** to make it longer, but I'm kinda used to shorter paragraphs 3) My English is not exactly "terrific"(not what my teacher said but I guess that was what she implied). Hence, my grammar is commonly compared to an 8 year old's. (Which is really pathetic considering that I'm already 13) Also, I use the British spelling, but auto-correct changes words to the American spelling at times, so my stories might contain a mix. And finally 4) I have my own writing style that concentrates more on the plot than on fancy language, since I find it very hard to express my ideas in that manner (I hadn't paid too much attention to it in class and never memorised the ways to properly describe feelings or weather or scenery etc). Hence, you wouldn't find even considerably simple words like 'surreptitious' or sentences like 'the magnolia clouds drifted peacefully in the cerulean skies' or anything like that (they'll probably end up having even more grammar errors anyway). Because of this, my stories are shortened by a huge lot. (The last chapter was supposed to end at 800 words, and it took me a lot of effort to extend it to the 1.3k it is now.) Thanks for reading!

Alright, on to the story~

* * *

Two funerals were held, one in the South Pole, the other in Republic City. The first only for close friends and family, whilst the second was attended by more than half the city's population.

The benders of the city were especially mournful. Avatar Korra _did_ save them from Amon, as well as exposed him as a fraud to the non-benders.

For weeks, the whole world had seemed gloomy. Who was going to protect them from the possible imminent dangers? It was going to be a (long) time before the master of all four elements would be at the world's aid yet again. No doubt, plans or attempts for world domination would increase drastically over the next decade. One could only hope that they can stay out of all the troubles that are bound to come.

And although it took months for things to become normal, everyone was soon going back to live their usual lives. But it was almost as if Korra was never there. The crimes that had disappeared with her arrival, had re-appeared with her death.

General Iroh and his soldiers were on high alert, ready if disaster were to strike. Cheif Saikhan had permanently replaced Lin Beifong in the police force after she had lost her bending. Mako had recently gotten a part-time job as a police officer, while his brother and ex-girlfriend tried to save Future Industries. To them, their jobs had kept their minds off the death of their best friend.

* * *

"So I've been thinking," Asami starts,"we should fulfill Korra's last request to find the next Avatar. You guys could even teach him Earth and Fire bending." There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. It was no secret that Mako, after all this while, still grieved over the loss of Korra, whom he had admitted he had feelings for. _He_ would surely have some doubts on her idea. Whereas Bolin had learnt to be more open on the topic of his late friend.

"We _should_. Korra would have wanted us to teach him. We could ask Saikhan to excuse Mako from work, and get Tenzin or President Raiko to send us to the Earth Kingdom! It's perfect!" Bolin sounded really up for it by the time he was done speaking.

"And do what exactly!?" Asami and Bolin was shocked Mako's sudden outburst, turning their heads to the firebender who was speaking for the first time since the conversation had started. "It's not as if at 6 months old that boy already bend the four elements! Even As a bending prodigy, Korra only discovered her ability when she was four! How are we expected to find this boy out of the millions in the Earth Kingdom?!"

"We could always use the method that they used in the past," the raven-haired beauty suggests."They had made use of possessions of the previous avatars by putting them together with a whole bunch of other things. The avatar would be able to select the all the right items amongst the vast array of objects because they would be familiar to him or her from his or her past lives." Bolin seemed very convinced, he wanted to do Korra this favour. _Mako_, on the other hand, was not.

"No." The firebender immediately rejects the idea. "No, I'm _not_ going to the Earth Kingdom with you. You two could go search for him all you want, but I'm not going to come along." And that was when Bolin went into a full pleading rampage.

"But Mako, it wouldn't be the same without you! You _have_ to! Please! We're brothers! Remember when you almost forgot my birthday 8 years ago? You owe me! Please, please, please, please, please! It wouldn't be the same without you! And as my brother, you have to-" After all those years living with Bolin, he knew when to let go of an argument. "Fine." He finally says as he sighs in defeat.

"Yes! Mako, I love you!" Just like that, the remainder of Team Avatar was set on going to the Earth Kingdom.

* * *

"Xuan! Come back in, it's time for dinner!" Yan-Li shouts just loud enough for Korra to hear. The tan-skinned teenager picks up her baby brother in arms. Every evening, she would bring Hui out to the empty space behind the house. He seemed to really enjoy playing in the dirt, always chuckling as he rolled back and forth on the earth.

_Definitely an earthbender._ Even at 6 months old, it was obvious that little Hui would grow up to be yet another strong, persistent and enduring bender of the Earth Kingdom. Korra brushes the dirt off his clothing as she casually walks back into the house.

By now, Korra was starting to look like herself again, no more cuts or bruises. The only difference was her hair, which she had cut short when she found it too messy for her liking. Even in a ponytail, she would find it in her face whenever she started to perspire while farming.

Even _with_ short hair, it was a huge wonder why the people in the village hadn't noticed the remarkable resemblance between "Xuan" and Avatar Korra. Shen and Yan-Li had their poor eyesights to blame, but the younger adults of the place had no excuses for missing on the fact that the well-liked teenage farmer of the neighbourhood was the supposedly deceased Avatar, other than perhaps that they hadn't read the newspaper at all in the past year (which was a pretty unconvincing reason).

The family ate as they talked. Dinner was a small grilled fish and some cabbage to go along with their rice. A simple, yet satisfying meal. Hui had a bottle of milk to finish.

"Xuan, have you recalled anything yet?" Shen asks out of no where, voice hinted with concern.

"Not yet Pa." Despite the 48 year gap between the elderly man and 17 year-old Korra, she was more comfortable addressing him as her father, instead of her granddad.

"But I actually had a dream a few nights ago." Korra starts to remember her strange vision. A bald monk had suddenly appeared in front of her, followed by what could've been hundreds of thousands of other people behind him. The monk had airbender tattoos, and was most likely around 40. He was talking about something that had to do with a 'lowest point in her life' and 'change'. He did also mention a small bit about her memory and how she would supposedly get it back 'when the time was right'. Then he placed his hands on her forehead and shoulder, and everyone's eyes started to glow white. She could've sworn she started to bend before she woke up.

She sat up in her bed, thinking about what a nonsensical dream it was, despite it feeling incredibly realistic. She was and was happy to be a non-bender, why in the world would she ever dream of being one? Korra had forgotten about it herself, until Shen was on the topic of her memory. However, when she realised how crazy it would sound to explain it to them, she decided to save them and herself the troubles of her guardians thinking she had gone completely insane. So she simply adds on, "it was nothing much, I was just in the the one of the Water Tribes."

With her tan skin and bright ocean coloured eyes, her being from the Water Tribes was one of the first topics that Shen and Yan-Li had discussed and confirmed with Korra when she was first found, even if she couldn't remember it herself. After all, only people of Water Tribe roots had been known to look like that. However, without confirmation of which pole she was from, or even a name, for that matter, it would have been impossible to find out more about her parents and send her home. So of course, what Korra had said didn't cause up much of a stir. Though it was unknown to them, this "nonsensical dream" was really Korra's first spiritual connection with her past lives. And this "dream" had returned her bending to her.

She was the Avatar again. She had regained control over the elements. Yet she had no idea.

* * *

Follow/Favourite/Review if you liked this chapter! Much more things will be happening in the next chapter!

Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra (duh)

* * *

Team Avatar was on a sky bison, heading towards the heart of the Earth Kingdom. They were granted permission to go on the search by President Raiko himself. Tenzin and Chief Saikhan had also agreed to their operation. It was surprising how much faith they had on three mere teenagers carrying out such an important mission, that had been only carried out by the highest ranked and most trusted officials in the past. Such as those from the White Lotus who searched the Water Tribes for Korra.

The air bending master had handed them a doll from when Korra was a kid, and Aang's old sky bison whistle that he had used to call Appa to his side. After all, his toys, along with the rest of his childhood possessions, were destroyed during the hundred year war, so the whistle was the closest thing to a child's play toy that Aang had owned.

Asami had placed them in two of the six toy-filled sacks that they brought with them. It would be impossible to pick the exact two out of the hundreds that were there. Unless, of course, you were the Avatar. An ordinary child would pick any number of toys he could hold, but the Avatar would only pick two, the doll and the whistle. The plan had been proven to be foolproof over the hundreds of thousands of years.

"So now where are we going again?" Bolin asks no one in particular.

"To the palace, to meet Earth Queen Hou-Ting. Tenzin said that he had already talked to her through the radio. She has agreed to the mission, but we have to go collect some legal documents from her first, before starting anything." Mako replies. Why the insane Earth Queen who ate Bosco and cares for nobody but herself, would agree to something like this so quickly, was a big question. Yet everyone simply decided to just let it be.

"But why waste time traveling all the way there? We could've started hours ago if it weren't for getting those 'documents' from the palace," Bolin starts to whine. There was no doubt that the 17 year old pro-bender was starting to get bored.

"Bolin, we can't just barge into someone's home and demand them to cooperate. It's practically illegal until we the queen hands the signed papers to us. Do you _want_ us to go to jail?" Asami shoots him a 'duh' look. He shrugs, as if he couldn't help it.

"Hey, guys, I think the sky bison's getting tired. It looks like it's dozing off." It was Mako's turn to fly the animal (it was unbelievably easy to fly the humongous beast, much to Team Avatar's surprise), and he was starting to realise that Wen Wen was flying closer and closer to the ground. "We are going to have to land in the nearest town and leave after Wen Wen recharges."

The mammal starts to descend. They all hop off when they are on the ground.

"Wow. This guy didn't even go half a day without getting exhausted. It is going to put us way off schedule." Asami looks at the route on the map, disappointed at the little distance they had made.

"Aw, come on! You can't blame him! This little fella is still pretty young! You can't expect him to carry all of us and our stuff and not get tired! Flying is hard work you know, ain't that right Wen Wen?" Bolin comforts the bison, rubbing his cheek against its soft fur. Wen Wen lets out a yawn, agreeing to what the earth bender had said. "See?" He was right, this animal was still a year or so away from being full-grown. It's bound to run out of steam with so much to carry. The older teenagers sigh at his childish behavior of talking to an animal._ Just live with him, that's how he is_. They both try to control theirselves from yelling at him.

"It's already 1 o'clock. We might as well have a walk around the village since we'll be here for the next few hours. Let's go." They follow the firebender. After a few minutes of strolling they are stopped by a pair of passers-by.

"You people aren't from her, are you?" The old lady asked questionably. "Yes, actually. We're from Republic City. How did you know?" Asami's tone was polite, as usual.

The old man chuckles slightly. "It's not a huge place really, we know everyone around here." He pauses shortly. "What are you three youngsters doing in our village anyway?" Raising an eyebrow, the frail elderly man looked at them suspiciously.

Deciding that the pair could be trusted, the trio told them all about their search for the new Avatar, including how they needed to visit the Earth Queen, and how they had to stop here while their only form of transport was resting. Hearing of their situation, the strangers immediately offered them some tea at their home. Mako was just about to decline their act of kindness when the raven-haired beauty elbowed him in the stomach.

"We would love to. Thank you, um..." She couldn't recall if the old couple had mentioned their names. "It's no problem at all. I'm Shen. And this is my wife Yan-Li."

* * *

"So, you guys are searching for the new Avatar, am I correct?" Bolin nods and the lady as they enter their dwelling. "Such a tragedy, what happened to Avatar Korra, she was just trying to live up with the expectations the world had set for her. What she did was both selfish and selfless."

Bringing up the topic of Korra's death made the brooding firebender wince slightly. He hadn't been able to live through such a conversation without yelling at someone's face or hurting someone's feelings. It was something he was trying to avoid all together, but failed miserably every single time. Thank goodness neither Bolin nor Asami had continued on the subject, knowing how Mako reacts to it, and he managed to survive the conversation without completely losing it.

"Thanks again for your hospitality," They sat around a small wooden dining table, and were served cups of piping hot jasmine tea. "You're welcome. Thank you for accompanying us. We barely have things to do here, and nothing is better than having people to chat with."

"What about your family?" Bolin asks. "Don't _they_ chat with you?"

"Well, Hui over there is way too young." Shen points to the baby cradle where Hui is sound asleep. "And Xuan is always out in the farm working."

"Oh I think you might get along with her. She's our daughter, around your age. She reminds me of you, Asami. Except that she has quite and attitude, and she has blue eyes." Team Avatar was beyond confused. At their age, their children should be no less than thirty years old by now. And seeing as to how they are both fully Earth Kingdom citizens, they couldn't possibly understand why their daughter would have blue eyes, a clear sign of those originally from the North or South Poles. It was when they added how they had adopted her not too long ago, that everything started to make sense to them.

They soon dropped the topic and moved on to exchanging life stories, I mean, what was so interesting about an adopted child from the Water Tribe that was worth having a longer discussion about? If only they had known that they were making such a gigantic mistake, and that if they had just asked for a picture, or even more details about this supposedly 'ordinary' girl, they would have made one of the biggest discoveries of their lives.

But of course, sadly, the world just doesn't work in that manner. They simply continued to talk about things that just didn't matter. Things that just couldn't compare in importance to what they _could've_ discussed.

* * *

Korra was heading home in the evening after a long day. What had happened that afternoon was especially overwhelming.

Back at the field, she had discovered her ability to earth bend. The ground had started to rumble when she was frustrated at how poor the crops had turned out. She was hoping for a good harvest, so that her family could have some better food on their tables for a change. And when she threw her hands up in the air in anger, two columns of earth sprouted from the ground, much to her disbelief.

_I'm an earthbender?_ Months ago, as just an airbender, she never noticed the random gusts of wind that would magically shoot out of her fists. The village had been known to be exceptionally windy after all, being so close to the sea. Earth was entirely different though, it would be ridiculously hard to miss the earth walls that would occasional appear in front of her along with the movement of her arms, as well as the many holes that she was sure that she hadn't dug. She wasn't sure if she should tell her Pa and Ma of this, afraid that it would make them to worry too much, causing things to spin way out of control. A girl like her, with distinct traits of those from the two poles, should _not_ be able to earth bend. _Maybe it'll be best if I kept my mouth shut._

She was closing to her house at the corner when she saw a few young and unfamiliar faces walk out the door and leave in the other direction. Looking at the back of their clothing, she could tell straight away that they weren't from the Earth Kingdom. Korra couldn't help but wonder about why in the world they would be in her home. She opened the front door and asked her parents, who were sitting on the couch of the living room.

"Pa, who where those people that just walked out of the house?"

"Oh, they were just some people we invited home for tea. They were going to meet the Queen Hou-Ting to start their search for the new avatar."

"And there was this firebender that I think you might like, he was very handsome. We also mentioned about you while we were chatting for the past few hours. It was a shame that you didn't get to meet them, they seemed like really nice people, and you need friends." Yan-Li was right when she said it was a shame, because if only they had stayed just a minute longer, things would turn out very differently.

Korra laughed at the frail old woman's humour as she walks into the kitchen. "I don't need friends," she pouts and acts slightly insulted, "I have you guys! And besides, how could I possibly 'like' this firebender guy?" She fills a cup with water and brings it to her lips as she rolls her eyes. "I barely know him."

She couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

Favourite/Follow/Review if you liked the chapter! The next will probably be posted in January!

Also, just to be clear, there are no villains from Books 2 to 4 in this story, because Unalaq couldn't open the spirit portals without the Avatar, Zaheer never escaped prison because he never became an airbender and the Earth Kingdom was never thrown out of balance because Earth Queen Hou-Ting was not killed by Zaheer, so Kuvira had no need to become 'the Great Uniter'.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra.

* * *

"I never want to see that psycho of a queen ever again." Asami shudders at the memory and tries to shake off the past few hours of her life, that was ruined by Her Majesty herself. "Ever."

The queen was completely, utterly insane. As well as disgusting, irritating, unhygienic, and if Asami were in charge, the list of what was wrong with Her Royal Highness would drag on and on. It was barely an exaggeration either. Earth Queen Hou-Ting had made it practically impossible for anyone _not_ to lose their minds after just moments in her presence.

The brothers also had had enough of the Queen. Mako had expected to their visit to be short and smooth-sailing. After all, all they needed were a few papers and they could have been on their way. Of course, it wasn't quite so simple.

The queen was acting all looney, talking non-stop, to no one in particular. The trio could barely squeeze in the time to tell her who they were in between the short breaths after every sentence, much less get her to hand them what they wanted.

"Listen, you piece of trash! You better shut-" Asami shouted directly in the aged lady, anger spinning way out of control. The brothers didn't blame her, they were doing everything they could not to attack the wrinkled woman themselves.

Earth Queen Hou-Ting was absolutely oblivious to the frustrated teens and was, fortunately, unable to hear the rude, furious rants from the heiress. Carrying on with her obnoxious dances and shouts to the skies, Team Avatar knew it was hopeless.

"It's as if she's on cactus juice." Mako slid his palm down his face,mumbling under his breath, irritated. He couldn't help but continue glaring at the lunatic who was currently holding a conversation with the beige ceiling. He turns his attention to a mess of cups in a corner of the room for the first time. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

They didn't need to be told to leave when they finally got a hold of the signed papers from a helpful servant, and dashed out the door in a hurry. A few more seconds with the horrid woman, supposedly of the royal family, Mako would have set the grand palace on fire.

"Thank Agni that's all over," Bolin lets out a humongous sigh of relief. Asami hops on the sky bison parked outside the palace gates. "Come on we have to go. We just wasted 4 hours in there."

The other two followed suit, and Wen Wen started to fly into the clouds. Their search was about to begin.

* * *

Korra trained in secret. After work, she would head to a bare plot of land. It was the perfect spot to practise her bending without anyone asking questions. As far as she knew, earth benders didn't have blue eyes or tan skin. If she was ever discovered, she would be held for questioning and experiments. She, of course, couldn't afford that; she had three people to provide for. There was a huge weight on her shoulders (though less of a burden than being the avatar, it was a burden all the same). Isolated, with nearly nobody who passes by, was her own private training ground.

After a few days of testing the limits of her newfound bending, she came to the conclusion that she was pretty good at it. The movements seemed to come to her naturally, and she was able to control the element with ease. Even in a short period of time, she had learnt to summon many earth pillars from the ground at once, and clearing them with nothing more than a simple swipe of her foot. She knew the skill was generally difficult, always surrounded by countless of earth benders, yet she couldn't help but execute the technique perfectly, without a flaw. Her gut feeling was telling her of her potential to be a great Master. Already being one, though, completely slipped her mind.

Today, however, was the day she got caught in the act. Tossing around ginormous chucks of rocks like they were pebbles, Korra was making a whole lot of noise. It would have been odd for anyone _not_ to check out what the ruckus was about.

A teenager was amazed by the obviously impressive earthbending visible from a distance, and decided he was going to confront this prodigy.

"Hey-" Korra immediately jumped at the voice of the stranger, instinctively bending a boulder over his head and threatening to crush him, all in one swift motion. Shocked at how things turned so quickly, he threw his arms up in the air in surrender. "Woah, no need for that!"

Korra took a good look at him. She had recognised him from her trips to the market. Tall, dark hair, and more handsome than she'd admit to herself. _The butcher's son_, she realises, proceeding to release the chunk of earth towards the right.

"Thanks." The boy dusts of his shirt before he continues. "You are an incredible earthbender, I must say. I'm Katsuo."

She shakes his extended hand and simply replies, "Xuan. And thank you."

"Xuan? Aren't you Old Man Shen's adoptive daughter? From the Water-" Katsuo stops mid-sentence. "How is it that you can earth bend?" He raises an eyebrow questionably, suspicious. "And why are you out here alone? Practising? Are you hiding something? What about-"

The blue-eyed beauty stops the overflow of questions by admitting defeat. "Sh! Fine! I'll tell you." Her explanation was detailed, and included how she herself didn't know the reason behind her miraculous ability of earthbending despite being of Water Tribe roots.

"Please, don't tell anyone," She pleaded with the green-eyed teenager.

"Don't worry, I won't." He pauses shortly before quickly adding, "but only on one condition."

The ex-Avatar had a feeling that was the case. It was rarely different, and she had gotten _way_ too used to it. "Alright, what is it?"

Katsuo flashes a smile, "You'll have to accompany me to this year's Harvest Festival next week." The edge of Korra's lip raises just a tiny bit.

"I would love to."

* * *

After a day of fun and laughter at the festival, Katsuo and Korra became really close, spending most of their time together. They would chat, exchange some earthbending tips at times, and just hang out.

'Xuan' was just starting to fall for the sweet, funny, witty and absolutely down-to-earth 19 year old when he kissed her. And that was what started their relationship. Her parents were ecstatic for Korra, knowing what a great and caring guy he was to their 'little girl'.

And as for her secret, he kept every last word. Never even uttering it in his sleep. Having a guy like Katsuo as a boyfriend was a blessing from Yue herself, and Korra couldn't remember the last time she was so happy.

But then again, there was a lot that she couldn't remember.

* * *

Follow/Favourite/Review if you liked the chapter!

Sorry this was a little late (although it's technically still January like I promised), but not only did I lose the original chapter I typed, school homework is piling up (you guys are probably sick of this excuse from everyone else too) and competition season starts in 2 days which means 3 hours of training every stinking day after school.

Also I decided to split the idea for this chapter I had into 2 separate chapters, so this one is slightly shorter than normal.

Ps. What do you think of Katsuo?

Thanks for reading!


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